Malaysia

[The following talk was presented by Sonny Melencio, chairperson of Partido Lakas ng Masa-Philippines (Party of the Labouring Masses), during the Socialist Alliance 10th national conference in Sydney, Australia on June 7, 2014.]

Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- When I was travelling from Manila, coming here to Australia, I bought a copy of a pocketbook that I could read in the plane. It was Dan Brown’s novel entitled Inferno. Actually, when the hardbound copy of this book first hit the bookshops, the Philippines went crazy about a small part of the novel which referred to Manila as the “gate of hell”.

After reading the book, it occurred to me that what the novel said about Manila was true. It was the most densely populated city on Earth, with huge traffic jams, suffocating pollution, houses made of corrugated metal and cardboards, communities reeking of stench, and horrifying sex trade and trafficking of women, girls and children.

I was reminded of Dan Brown’s novel today because, despite the inferno that is Manila now, our government is talking about a paradise that will be built in the Philippines during this "Asian Century".

S. Arutchelvan (Arul), secretary general the Socialist
Party of Malaysia.

By
Peter Boyle

May 14, 2014 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- The 2014 May Day rally in Kuala Lumpur, the
capital of Malaysia, was the biggest in the country since 1947 when
the British colonial authorities violently repressed the labour
movement, which had become one of the most strongly organised in Asia,
having organised the majority of the workforce.

Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal spoke to S. Arutchelvan (Arul), secretary general the Socialist
Party of Malaysia. He was also spokesperson for the May 1 Committee. Arul will be one of the international guest speaker in the
People's Power in the “Asian Century” seminar to be held in
conjunction with the 10th national conference of the
Socialist Alliance, in Sydney June 7-9, 2014.

For more details of the
Socialist Alliance conference and to register see HERE.

February 13, 2014 -- fz.com -- The Parti Sosialis Malaysia (Socialist Party of Malaysia, PSM), together
with some other groups and individuals, is forming a body called Left
Coalition to bring class
politics to Malaysia..

PSM secretary general S. Arutchelvan said it is looking at
forming the coalition with Parti Rakyat Malaysia, Solidariti Anak Muda
Malaysia and other activists and individuals.

"We are trying to bring back class politics. We feel the younger
generations are actually more receptive to more radical and progressive
ideologies... The 1969 (May 13) racial riot and the Cold War have
not corrupted their minds. They don’t have this fear of communism because they live in a
different era. And when the government said communism is evil, there
were a lot of counter arguments in the social media. We think it’s the
time for the left to grow”, he toldfz.com.

An astute observer of Malaysian politics, Arutchelvan felt that
after 1969 and the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP),
Malaysian politics had moved from class politics based on left or right
ideologies to racial and religious politics.

Celebrations following the release of the EO6. Ex-detainee Choo Chon Kai in centre. Photo by Alex Cheong.

October 8, 2013 -- From reports in the Malaysian press -- The Malaysia government has agreed to pay six Socialist Party of Malaysia (Parti Sosialis Malaysia, PSM) members
RM200,000 (approx. US$63,000) following the settlement of the lawsuit filed for
false imprisonment at the High Court.

October 3, 2013 -- Socialist Party of Malaysia/Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- The first Monday of every
October is designated by the United Nations as World Habitat Day. The main
purpose to celebrate this date is to reflect on the basic
right of all to adequate shelter. The UN has dedicated one day to highlight
the plight of people fighting for shelter as it seems that the right to a
home is one of the most fundamental human rights. With this, let me
argue the case of kampong Hakka in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan.

When I first stepped into kampong Hakka a year ago, I was amazed that
a Chinese new village complete with temple, community hall and school
existed in this village and I was further shocked to learn that all the
people living there have been declared illegals just because some
rich company has bought their land.

When I looked at the structure of their homes and their lifestyle, I was convinced that these villagers have a history to talk
about. They have lived here for many decades. Most of the villagers
were elderly people as their children had left to more urban town
centres. Their economic activity varies, with most of them being petty
traders and self-employed.

On September 30, 2013, in their effort to stop developers from demolishing Kampung Hakka Mantin, five residents and seven activists were arrested by police. It is also reported that one resident was injured during the commotion. Among those picked up was Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S. Arutchelvan.

Around 90 residents and activists gathered at the village in Negri Sembilan, attempting to negotiate with the developer, police and court representative, who came to demolish the houses. The negotiation broke down at 11.20 am, and the authorities proceeded to detain those trying to stop the demolition.

September 17, 2013 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) is deeply saddened over the passing of Chin Peng, secretary-general of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). We would like to express our condolences to Chin Peng’s family and his comrades in the CPM.

Chin Peng was a determined, resourceful anti-colonial and anti-imperialist fighter who led the heroic struggle against the Japanese occupation and British colonisation of Malaya. He played a significant role in the national liberation struggle of Malaya and he definitely has his place in the history of the independence of our country.

The PSM is deeply concerned about the ongoing Trans Pacific
Partnership Agreement (TPPA) free trade agreement. The 18th round is to
commence in Kota Kinabalu in east Malaysia from July 15 until July 25.

Since its first inception as the United States-Malaysia bilateral
Free Trade Agreement in 2006, the PSM has consistently protested the
decision of the Malaysian government to enter into such negotiations. It
was very clear since then, that the FTA is part of the agenda of US
corporations to expand and control trade in the region.

Having failed to impose their interests via the World Trade
Organisation, US corporations quickly lobbied Congress to start
bilateral agreements with the countries in Asia.

Threatened by the growing economies of China and India, the US and European Union are competing to control trade for their respective
interests. It is another form of imperialism that will negate our
national sovereignty.

Now, after the fast track to negotiate the FTA during the Bush
administration expired in 2007, the TPPA is a renewed approach for the
same goals. TPPA is FTA on steroids.

Popular PSM leader Arul at May 25 "Voice of the People 505" rally at Dataran Petaling Jaya. Photo by Keow Wee Loong.

By Peter Boyle, photos by Keow Wee Loong

May 31, 2013 -- Green Left Weekly/Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Mass rallies protesting the "robbery" of the May 5 Malaysian general
election have continued for weeks despite government threats and the
arrests of six prominent opposition activists on "sedition" charges. The
fact that the corruptly entrenched Barisan Nasional coalition "won" 60%
of the parliamentary seats with just 47% of the official vote and the
many reports of blatant vote-buying and cheating, has created an ongoing
legitimacy crisis.

Rumours of an impending internal party challenge
to the leadership of PM Najib Razak in the United Malay National
Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in BN, have added to this
crisis.

May 21, 2013 -- Malaysia's human rights organisation Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) requests your urgent intervention in the detention of Adam Adli (pictured above), student activist from Malaysia. SUARAM is dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

Brief description of the situation:

SUARAM condemns the arbitrary and unlawful detention of Student Activist, Adam Adli under the Section 4 of the Sedition Act[1] which prohibiting discourse deemed as seditious and if found guilty under the act, Adam could be jailed for up to three years, fined not more than RM5000, or both.

Most wore black to mourn the BN's killing of democracy. Photo by Lee Yu Kyung.

By Peter Boyle, photos by Lee Yu Kyung

May 8, 2013 -- Green Left Weekly -- Up to 120,000 people packed and overflowed a large stadium in
Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur on May 8 to protest the fraudulent
re-election of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government on May 5. The crowd defied a police threat to arrest all who attended the
opposition-called rally. The police did not dare confront the huge crowd
but since the rally have called in 28 rally speakers for questioning.

The crowd also had to brave BN threats to provoke ethnic clashes by
branding the stronger opposition vote a "Chinese tsunami" – a slander
against the multi-ethnic opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The opposition plans to hold more rallies in other cities in the following days.

The many irregularities during the election, the tainted electorol roll,
the "indelible" ink [which washed off] scandal, vote buying and phamton voters calls for not only
an investigation but a referundum and challenge to the
result itself.

The bigger issue is not about an investigation but the
legitimacy of the current government. The result of the election gave the opposition
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) a popular majority over BN [in terms of total votes cast]. We are being ruled by a government that does not have the support of more than half the voters.

The PSM won two of these seats in the 2008 election: Jeyakumar
Devaraj, or “Kumar” as he is better known, won the federal parliamentary
seat of Sungai Siput from a high-profile former minister. PSM
chairperson Nasir Hashim won the Selangor state assembly seat of Kota
Damansara.

Also, the PSM is standing its secretary-general S. Arutchelvan
(“Arul”) for the Selangor state assembly seat of Semenyih and its deputy
chairperson M. Sarasvathy (“Saras”) for the Perak state assembly seat of
Jelapang.

In the lead-up to the election, the PSM painstakingly sought to
negotiate with other opposition parties to avoid a three-corner contest
with the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in these seats.

April 9, 2013 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Malaysians soon go to the polls in state and federal elections, expected to be held on April 27. The ruling Front National, or Barisan Nasional (BN), coalition is dominated by
the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and has traditionally attracted votes from the 50% of the population of
Malay descent. The coalition has controlled Malaysia's parliament
since the country's independence from Britain in 1957.

However, many predict that in this election BN dominance will be shaken by gains by the Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim.

The Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM, Socialist Party of Malaysia) is also standing in a number of state and federal seats, seeking to retain its two sitting MPs and increase its representation of the country's working classes and poor. The party's election manifesto is below. It can also be downloaded HERE.

[The following paper was presented at the Socialist Party of Malaysia's Socialism 2012 conference in Kuala Lumpur, over the November 25-26, 2012, weekend. Jeyakumar is a member of parliament for the PSM.]

November 24, 2012 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Socialism
has been painted as the antithesis of democracy – and millions of
people the world over believe this untruth. Right-wing political
propaganda states (among other things) that

A
society based on socialism is “unnatural”. It goes against human nature
which is individualistic. That’s why socialist and communist countries
developed into totalitarian states. People had to be compelled to act
against their normal human instincts.

A socialist program therefore will breed dictatorship and an authoritarian government with a repressive political police etc.

Democracy
and a system of checks and balances are only possible in the free market (capitalist) system. Socialism will lead to totalitarianism.

False
beliefs such as these are among the main reasons why, despite the
ongoing implosion of capitalism in Europe, the majority of the people
are not yet decisively moving towards a socialist economic model.

Celebrations following the release of the EO6. Ex-detainee Choo Chon Kai in centre. Photo by Alex Cheong.

By S.Arutchelvan, secretary general, Socialist Party of Malaysia

July 29, 2012 -- Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) -- Today
marks the first anniversary of the release of the PSM EO6 [Emergency Ordinance 6] who were
robbed of their freedom on June 25, 2011, when they were detained with 26
others. On July 2, 2011, they were technically released but rearrested
under the Emergency Ordinance. The six, M. Saraswathy, Dr Jeyakumar
Devaraj, Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, M. Sukumaran and A . Letchumanan were
detained for another 28 days in solitary confinement without the right
to trial. Their release came about exactly one year ago, only after a
massive local and international campaign which saw people from all walks
of life standing together against injustice and tyranny.

May 1, 2012 -- Green Left Weekly/Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- S. Arutchelvan, secretary general of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM),
is a veteran of many demonstrations. But the Bersih 3.0 mobilisation,
which he estimates was between 100,000 -150,000-strong, was the biggest
he's been a part of yet in the country. “It was a huge success”, he told Green Left Weekly, “and it terrified the Barisan Nasional [BN] government.”

“The BN government sees Merdeka Square as its Tahrir Square. They do
not want to see – and for the public and the world to see – images of it
being occupied by democratic movement. It is their political survival. Since 2011 PM Najib [Razak] has been worrying about the Arab Spring
spreading to Malaysia. He said his government would not let it happen. So on April 28, the riot police was used to prevent the people from getting to Merdeka Square at any cost.

April 30, 2012 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- The Coalition of Free and Fair Elections (Bersih – meaning “clean” in Malay), the movement for free and fair elections in Malaysia, said that the April 28 rally was a great success, claiming that 300,000 Malaysians had joined the Bersih 3.0 rally in the capital Kuala Lumpur. Bersih called for a mass sit in on April 28 because it suspects that the country’s entrenched Barisan Nasional (BN) government is about to call a general election without addressing widespread electoral irregularities. Rallies were also held in around 85 cities around Malaysia and across the world (click HERE for reports).

April 18, 2012 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal/Green Left Weekly -- The Coalition of Free and Fair Elections (called Bersih
– meaning “clean” in Malay), a civil society movement for free and fair
elections in Malaysia, has called for a mass sit in on April 28 because it
suspects that the country’s entrenched Barisan Nasional (BN) government is about to call a general election before addressing widespread
electoral irregularities confirmed by a review forced on the government
by the previous Bersih 2.0 mass mobilisation on July 9, 2011.

The Bersih 2.0 mobilisation was banned by the government, which set up
roadblocks around the capital Kuala Lumpur, carried out pre-emptive
arrests of activists and tried to ban the wearing of yellow clothes, the
colour used by the movement. Yet on the July 9 some 50,000 defied
the riot squads, tear gas attacks and 1600 arrests and took to the
streets.

This
year is the 101st year we are celebrating International Women’s Day. Thanks to our leftist and progressive comrades who proposed such an idea, back
in 1910. The United Nations theme for the Women’s Day celebration this year is "Empower rural women – End hunger and poverty’.

While
it is true that majority of our rural women, especially in East Malaysia, are
living in poverty, the urban women too are deeply distressed with their low
income jobs, lack of social security, discrimination at the workplace and home,
long work hours, lack of child-care facilities at the workplace, and the list could
go on. The women are further burdened with the government’s neoliberal
policies which led to privatisation of all basic needs that keeps the cost of
living high. There are still many girls and women out there, both in rural and
urban areas, who are illiterate.

No
doubt, there has been much remarkable progress among Malaysian
women in self-advancement and capitalism did contribute to that, but as a
working class, we are still the oppressed class.